Interview with Dean Hall in the latest PC Gamer (summerized)

[TEST_SUBJECT_83 465]

Well since my post got taken down because it was taken from PC Gamer

I thought I would make a post to summarize what is in the article,

and since someone on Reddit already beat me to it,

I will just pass this along.

 

Credit to PyroDragn on Reddit

Picked out some of the most pertinent points for people looking for NEW features.

Quotes are from the text, attempted to maintain as much context as I can without too much copy/pasting:

 

Bows, arrows, and thrown items/weapons

...bows and arrows, knives and spears are all on the list – along with a physics-based throwing system that can be used inoffensively (throwing a can of beans to a friend in need) or offensively (throwing a can of beans at someone’s head).

 

Reduce spawn of military gear and other important items

We get away from running to a particular building to find the military item. You might find one there, but nine times out of ten it won’t be. It’ll only be when they get destroyed or disappear that they respawn again.” The result will be a more mobile player population, making more use of parts of Chernarus away from the major cities and military bases.

 

Limited item respawn on server; items respawn when another is destroyed

"Then we’ll be able to dramatically reduce the spawn rate of important stuff – like military weapons. As some of these difficulties increase, players will start to see the benefit of grouping up.”

 

More zombies, but some isolated areas of the map too

“We do still want the sense that there’s no zombies in particular places, out in the wilderness,” Hall says. “It brings this sense that I’m safe, but I have to take an active risk to go in where there’s more danger. I find that quite interesting.”

 

Player to player contagious disease?

“Say your group is getting along really great and you’re doing well and someone starts coughing,” Hall says. “What do you do? You suddenly have to face all of these issues.

 

Hunting (already known)

Hunting for game is a priority feature to be added,

 

Night having an effect on hunting

Hunting is also a way for Hall to start solving a much broader problem with the game – nighttime. “Nighttime is my favorite time in DayZ as a concept, but in terms of gameplay it’s... not so much,” he concedes. “You don’t really get much out of the game then, and that’s why – as designers – we need to fix it.”

 

Tameable animals

Not every animal you encounter in the woods will be wild. Tamable stray dogs are something that Hall is keen to include...

 

Horses possibly

“Horses are looking a lot more likely than they were before,” he says. “Part of the problem is animating them. It’s not something we can promise, but it’s right up there in terms of things we’re looking at in the moderate term.”

 

Vehicles next priority, Starting with bicycles

Vehicles are the next priority feature, requiring the cooperation of groups of players to assemble and maintain. The vehicle you and your friends build will, in a sense, be a second character – and it’ll need just as much caring for as a human being.

We’re going to start simple, with bicycles – they’re slow, and there’s not much to them – then from there we’ll head out.”

 

More 'appropriate* difficulty for running vehicles, including helicopters

“We won’t be able to do everything, but the idea is to provide a much more DayZ-appropriate vehicle experience. For example, I would love to see helicopters – but it’s going to be so difficult to keep your helicopter running, because there’s going to be an incredible number of items attached to it that all have to be looked after. The helicopter becomes this amazing thing to see – not just something you find and get in and turn on.”

 

Underground bases

Something else he’s thinking about long-term is living space. “I want to go with underground bases because it solves the problem of space on the surface. Even though DayZ has a huge map, it’s still not big enough for what we’re talking about.

 

Player run laboratory for virus research

I’d like there to be – dare I say it – in-game content where you create a lab and try to keep that running. Suddenly resource gathering becomes very difficult, and very important. Being mobile becomes critical, because your base is static. One of your goals would be researching the zombie virus and how it mutates, as well as researching and even manufacturing new viruses.

 

Extended moddability

I’ve been looking for ways to add user-created content without them having to make a mod and distribute a data file. It’d be great if we could have it so that players could make stuff and create events that happen based on the existing database.” Engineering, science, medicine, animal husbandry – these are all signs of civilization, not post apocalyptic chaos.

 

Player customization

There’s things we’ll do to support that [Gangs/Groups], like tattoos and being able to write markings on your weapon. 

 

 

Edited February 17, 2014 by TEST_SUBJECT_83

[Geckofrog7 1168]

WHAT NO TIBERIUM I AM DISAPPOINT.

Edited February 17, 2014 by Geckofrog7

[leefriendfield 438]

Great post, thanks for the info.

 

[PhilB 230]

Was this a print only article?

 

This is stellar to read. I approve on all points. It's like Dean's reading all my posts!

 

When he says vehicles next priority, one must realize he always means item permanence across server restarts. Your car trunk might be your first tent site.

[Danny_Boooy 61]

Uhh re read this OP. The format is a bit whack. You've got some of the answers to questions underneath the question after it... If that makes sense.

 

Otherwise great post :)

[TEST_SUBJECT_83 465]

Oh if anyone wants the full article PM me and I will send it via email.

Since Im not allowed to post it word by word here. Which I understand.

Edited February 17, 2014 by TEST_SUBJECT_83

[Dorner 9]

Can you correct the format or something? wtf

[TEST_SUBJECT_83 465]

Uhh re read this OP. The format is a bit whack. You've got some of the answers to questions underneath the question after it... If that makes sense.

 

Otherwise great post :)

 Sorry, re reading it now.

I actually only scanned it before, my bad.

 

Edit:

Wow!

That was hard to read, sorry guys it must have got screwed up when I pasted it in Word.

I think it's good now, will fix if I missed anything.

Edited February 17, 2014 by TEST_SUBJECT_83

[TEST_SUBJECT_83 465]

Create a lab and try to keep it running sounds pretty cool.

I wonder if that will ever be implemented?

[soulfirez 901]

legen wait for it dary...

 

Nice work thanks for the effort of posting all that info beans for you my good man...

[LaughingJack (DayZ) 767]

Thanks for the post Sir, have my beans ;)

 

Player run laboratory for virus research

I’d like there to be – dare I say it – in-game content where you create a lab and try to keep that running. Suddenly resource gathering becomes very difficult, and very important. Being mobile becomes critical, because your base is static. One of your goals would be researching the zombie virus and how it mutates, as well as researching and even manufacturing new viruses.

 

....why is the first thing I thought about: Well, that gives us the possibility to infect Players with the Zombie-virus or a new one.....instead of, i don't know, "Maybe they can heal the Zombies?" -.- DayZ in my mind...

Edited February 17, 2014 by LaughingJack

[Window Licker 504]

So much awesome.... I'm glad so many things have been addressed and there is so much more he wants to put in, things I had suspicions about and some that just blew me away.

[TEST_SUBJECT_83 465]

Thanks for the post Sir, have my beans ;)

 

 

....why is the first thing I thought about: Well, that gives us the possibility to infect Players with the Zombie-virus or a new one.....instead of, i don't know, "Maybe they can heal the Zombies?" -.- DayZ in my mind...

That would be great!

Coat the tip of an arrow with the virus maybe?

[res 373]

HELL YES! DOGS!

 

Now I be able to handcuff someone and make him watch as I beat his dog to death (or poison him, OR CHOP THE DOG TO PIECES AND FORCE FEED THE MEAT TO THE OWNER! The emotion! The grief! The reaction!

 

Don't get me wrong I love animals in real life, but that sounds like so much fun.

 

I love this game.

[soulfirez 901]

HELL YES! DOGS!

 

Now I be able to handcuff someone and make him watch as I beat his dog to death (or poison him, OR CHOP THE DOG TO PIECES AND FORCE FEED THE MEAT TO THE OWNER! The emotion! The grief! The reaction!

 

Don't get me wrong I love animals in real life, but that sounds like so much fun.

 

I love this game.

HEY  if your going to be a bandit do it with style this would crush my soul to have it happen to me ( for about 5 min then id hit respawn and go again lol) atleast your thinking beyond left click yeah ....

Edited February 17, 2014 by SoulFirez

[blaf 63]

Would be great if devs incorporate ToH flight model for helicopters, so they would be not only difficult to maintain but also not so easy to fly.

 

just imagine:

"Hey, after a week of intensive effort we finally get that chopper together!"

"Cool, everyone onboard, let's go for a test flight"

*Instant crash*

"Fuck!"

[TEST_SUBJECT_83 465]

Would be great if devs incorporate ToH flight model for helicopters, so they would be not only difficult to maintain but also not so easy to fly.

 

just imagine:

"Hey, after a week of intensive effort we finally get that chopper together!"

"Cool, everyone onboard, let's go for a test flight"

*Instant crash*

"Fuck!"

Trust me...they will NOT be easy to fly.

He will be using the model from Take On Helicopters,which is a heli sim,so yeah...really hard to fly and next to impossible to maintain. 

Edited February 20, 2014 by TEST_SUBJECT_83

[blaf 63]

Trust me...they will NOT be easy to fly.

He will be using the model from Take On Helicopters,which is a heli sim,so yeah...really hard to fly and next to impossible to maintain. 

Now these are some really good news :) (btw ToH = Take on Helicopters)

Thanks for info!

[Admiral_69 78]

Being a biomedical engineer in the pharma industry (and ironically working right now at a vaccine manufacturer), it simply impossible for some random survivor to do anti-viral lab research in a post apocalyptic scenario.

This is the silliest idea I have ever heard. I mean wow, how many viral diseases exist without vaccines right now. If you in your improvised lab in a backwater country like Chenarus can create a vaccine, why couldn't the world, with all of the premier research scientists and facilities, find this same cure?

You need:

1 - identify the causative agent. Is this similar to an existing pathogen, or a brand new one? How would a layperson know the difference? How would you separate this from the tissue sample? I mean, it took two YEARS to separate and ID the AIDS virus.

2a - a dead virus or part of one. How do you know it is dead but still immunogenic? Where is your source material?

2b - weakened virus / bacteria - again, you need an infected animal, or tissue sample. You then weaken the virus by some method (for rabies it was drying the dead rabbits). But you better be careful, because these vaccines can spontaneously become full strength (see vaccine derived polio)

3 - some means to separate the immunogenic (creates immune response) substance from the source material on a sufficent scale. Why, because injecting yourself with raw meat is a really bad idea. And having too little makes the immune response too small.

4 - most importantly, you have to make sure the finished product is sterile because injecting bacteria into your bodies is a very bad idea. And you need to keep it refrigerated, because it will degrade. And maybe you need to add an adjuvent to increase the immune response. And you will need to add a preservative to slow degradation.

This is just way past believability. And in my opinion, the biggest drawback will be that you can look up all of the answers on the internet. Which then just makes this an overly complicated, boring fetch task.

Better idea: Finding an abandoned proper military base (not the improvised civilian air bases) with Anthrax and various nerve gasses, etc still present. That is realistic. The challenge there is extracting it from storage without releasing it.

[blaf 63]

Being a biomedical engineer in the pharma industry (and ironically working right now at a vaccine manufacturer), it simply impossible for some random survivor to do anti-viral lab research in a post apocalyptic scenario.

This is the silliest idea I have ever heard. I mean wow, how many viral diseases exist without vaccines right now. If you in your improvised lab in a backwater country like Chenarus can create a vaccine, why couldn't the world, with all of the premier research scientists and facilities, find this same cure?

You need:

1 - identify the causative agent. Is this similar to an existing pathogen, or a brand new one? How would a layperson know the difference? How would you separate this from the tissue sample? I mean, it took two YEARS to separate and ID the AIDS virus.

2a - a dead virus or part of one. How do you know it is dead but still immunogenic? Where is your source material?

2b - weakened virus / bacteria - again, you need an infected animal, or tissue sample. You then weaken the virus by some method (for rabies it was drying the dead rabbits). But you better be careful, because these vaccines can spontaneously become full strength (see vaccine derived polio)

3 - some means to separate the immunogenic (creates immune response) substance from the source material on a sufficent scale. Why, because injecting yourself with raw meat is a really bad idea. And having too little makes the immune response too small.

4 - most importantly, you have to make sure the finished product is sterile because injecting bacteria into your bodies is a very bad idea. And you need to keep it refrigerated, because it will degrade. And maybe you need to add an adjuvent to increase the immune response. And you will need to add a preservative to slow degradation.

This is just way past believability. And in my opinion, the biggest drawback will be that you can look up all of the answers on the internet. Which then just makes this an overly complicated, boring fetch task.

Better idea: Finding an abandoned proper military base (not the improvised civilian air bases) with Anthrax and various nerve gasses, etc still present. That is realistic. The challenge there is extracting it from storage without releasing it.

Well, you can still repeatedly raid the coast for neverending flow of defensless bambies and therefore have endless possibilities for experiments :)

[ImageCtrl 719]

@op thanks :thumbsup:

[franciscojose 7]

Thank you very much OP!

[Rudette 435]

A great read, thank you for posting.

[Ubernaut 297]

Great share! Thank you!

[ChimpyGlassman (DayZ) 51]

Things are going to get VERY interesting! Can't wait for the new implementations.